Change of Heart
by Tsuki-of-the-Wolves
Summary: Sasuke has returned... well, most of him anyway. First fanfiction, no flames please. Rating for minor minor language and safety. A good Theme Song for this is Shattered by Trading Yesterday
1. Black Are The Days, Cold Are The Nights

Tsuki: _Kon-nichiwa, Tsuki here! It's so exciting to be writing my first Fanfiction, and a SasuSaku one no less! *tail wags happily* Anyway, wow this is just so cool! So here's my first chapter, and Sakura, want to do the disclaimer?_

Sakura: _Sure Tsuki-san, no problem! Okay, Tsukiko Naitosora does not own any of the Naruto characters, Kishimoto-sensei does. Sorry Tsuki-san, uh… Tsuki-san?_

Tsuki: _*sniffles* I just get really sad when I hear that. If I did there would be major changes! *fire in eyes* Anyway, here goes nothing…_

^..^

Days are black now in Konoha. A boy snarls, a girl holds back tears that so desperately try to spill, and a traitor has returned. The Hokage, Tsunade, ran her hands through her hair and sighed, staring at the boy before her, so young and so deadly. The pen she holds taps impatiently on the surface of her desk, and she dares not turn her head.

The pink haired girl holding her tears back in the corner, also held the hand of her beloved friend, Naruto, Tsunade's soon-to-be-successor. Sakura gently strokes his knuckles, while his own claws curl and uncurl into fists, blue eyes bleeding to red. This was a day she knew would come, but how much she wished it hadn't so quickly.

"Uchiha Sasuke, your punishment will be simple at best, especially for your actions. Sakura, Naruto, leave the room please." Sakura began to protest, but her shishou glared, and the two exited, Sakura being forced to repeatedly tug Naruto's sleeve to get him to follow. When the door clicked close, Tsunade continued. "Well then, Sasuke, the S-ranked criminal standing before me, flesh and blood." Said boy did nothing. "Your punishment was decided by me, and I have a soft heart today, be thankful for that. Perhaps I'm just getting to nice in my old age, seen too many deaths, and too many hearts broken. It would be cruel of me to crush your teammate's efforts so viciously. You will be put on probation for a year and under house arrest for six months. Doesn't seem like much does it? Well I'm giving you a break for killing off Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Itachi, not to mention the rest of team Hebi. Of course you came willingly too, that's a plus." A smug smirk passed the Hokage's face, but was gone before it began.

When the Uchiha said nothing, she continued. "Uchiha, you will be watched by the ANBU with intensive supervision, you'd do wise not to make any small mistakes. Your teammates will be allowed to visit you, but I wouldn't count on it too much. Now then, leave my sight before you sour my mood and I do decide to give you the death penalty." A group of ANBU grabbed him by the shoulders, and pulled him out of the room. No one stood in the halls, no one stood outside as the rain poured down, and the clouds above swirled, a storm fast approaching. The day was overcome by shadows and ghosts, not only outside, but deep in Sasuke's mind, haunting him, their cold hands brushing against his flesh. He both savored the feeling and was pained by it. His heart ached with loneliness, and his coal eyes were empty, no reflection shown.

And the ANBU walked him straight to the house he longed to forget, but once cherished so. They opened the gates, took him to the main house, covered in dust, and left him. Going off somewhere where they could still watch him. The chakra restraints around his wrist rubbed the skin raw, and he knew before he came back that he would never be accepted into the village again. That people would always be weary, and he may always be lonely. Yet with nowhere else left to go, and death tagging along with him (you see he couldn't bear the thought of joining the ghosts that haunted him), he had returned to where it would hurt most to go. And why, he'd never know.

* * *

Everything was relatively quiet, an odd change that Kakashi wasn't used to, but at this point could fully understand. Not that he talked much anyway, but he enjoyed listening to his young once-students talk, and laugh. None of the sort was happening today though. Yes today everything was quiet as the rain washed down from the sky, soaking the group of ninja to the bone. With his hair flattened against his face, Kakashi sighed, and stared at one person in particular, whose eyes were welded close, and mouth barred shut. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes together tighter as a tear slipped out, falling away quickly on her wet skin.

"Sakura…" Kakashi put his hand on the young kunoichi's shoulder, but she shrugged him away.

"Sensei, is Tsunade really going to let…him, live." She refused to say his name, and refused to let go of calling him her sensei. How desperately she clung to the old life, and how easily she let go.

"Yes. She said we may visit him as well." He sought shelter from behind his little orange book, but knew he left it at home just for that purpose, so he could not hide, and was forced to be there for his team. "Naruto, please calm down." The demon-boy was currently punching a wall to bits, his anger not subsiding much, but his physical appearance back to normal. "Isn't his returning what you wanted?" The two said nothing, nothing more needed to be said at this time, and Kakashi left in a whirl of smoke.

"Naruto, I don't want to visit Sasuke. Not yet please." Sakura pleaded, still not letting tears spill.

"We won't. Sakura please let yourself cry, it's not good to bottle up emotions." The fox boy turned away.

"No!" Her voice rang, and a few more tears slipped. She quickly wiped them away to hide the evidence before Naruto would notice. "I will not cry for that…that traitor!"

"Sakura!" Naruto turned around swiftly and slapped Sakura over the head, his eyes flashing. Sakura stared at him, eyes wide, crystalline tears finally falling frantically. His eyes widened and he looked down at his hands. "Forgive me." He enveloped her in a tight hug and did not let go. Tears now streamed down his own face. "I just didn't… I mean we can't… Sakura we can't give up on him now that he's finally returned."

She backed away from him, tears streaking her face, yet little difference was shown of rain and tears. "I shouldn't have said that, you're right… I just don't want to cry for him anymore… Please, you must understand, I just," Naruto put his hand on her shoulder as she cried.  
"It's okay Sakura, shush, it'll be okay." He brushed the hair from her face, and smiled. "You're my best friend, you know, of course I understand. Do what you need to do Sakura. You don't have to visit him yet." She nodded, and began to unsteadily walk away.

"I'm going to go home. I'll… I'll see you tomorrow…" Naruto said nothing to this, just waved slightly, though she did not look back. He watched as she stumbled along, sorrow clouding her mind more violently than rage. As she staggered out of distance, Naruto felt anger rise inside him, fury all aimed at one person, yet that anger would never surface he knew. Yet that didn't mean he couldn't go to see the cause of such rage.

* * *

Sasuke sat still, the ANBU around him actually cleaning his home. Apparently they didn't want any disease here, left by any animals that may have broke in, to be transferred to them. He grunted and looked away when he noticed one of them with a swirl-painted mask stop, and wonder what had him looking so smug. Sasuke merely shrugged it off and turned away. A female ANBU entered the room now, with long white hair, and a wolf mask, he couldn't see her face.

"You have a visitor." Was all she said, and then she left to god-knows-where. The raven-haired boy waited for said visitor to enter, and finally, the shoji screen pulled back, and in stepped one of the people Sasuke wanted to see the most.

"Sasuke," was all Naruto said. His blue eyes burrowing into empty ones, after a moment of silence, he continued. "What made you decide to come back so easily? Was it really just that you finished your first goal?" Sasuke shrugged. "What are you going to do now?" He shrugged once more.

"Does it matter?" He said slowly, quietly, almost cautiously.

Naruto growled. "Of course it matters! You think it doesn't matter to your friends what you're going to do!?" Sasuke scoffed.

"You may leave now. And don't come back until you're with someone who can control you." The blonde boy gaped.

"You think you can just get rid of me like that?"

"Yes." Naruto just clenched his fists, stood for a moment, and the adhered to Sasuke's command in a hesitant way.

He took steps toward the door, and then turned his head back. "Sasuke, if you weren't my friend, if we were anywhere but in Konoha…" He turned back, leaving, and Sasuke just barely caught the last part. "I would kill you for what you've done to Sakura."

The door slid closed, and the Uchiha's breathe caught, eyes widening slightly at what the boy just said. It wasn't so much the fact that Naruto wanted to kill him, but more that he had altered Sakura in such a way that Naruto, the densest of them all, had not only noticed, but had made him fill with enough rage to want to kill his 'best friend', if they had been under different circumstances.

Now, it was a lie as to say Sasuke had not thought of the pink haired girl when he made his way toward the village, but his mind did not stray during that. He simply wondered what she'd do when she saw him, or how she'd react. He knew it wouldn't be something fanatic, like the old Sakura would do, the one he left on that bench so long ago, and of course she wouldn't. Sasuke knew what it was like to lose something important to you, it changed you, even if Sakura wasn't in love with him at the time, he had no doubt he still held importance to her. No, he knew she'd be angry, and sad, and want to kill him and hug him all at once. She barely met his eyes, which was expected, she never said a word, and she almost seemed to hide behind Naruto. There was a strange look in her eyes though, fear? No, it wouldn't be fear. Sasuke knew she was strong enough now not to be too frightened by him. Perhaps it was another kind of fear though…

Thoughts ran on until such fatigue no longer let him think, only fight to keep his eyes open. Sasuke did not want to sleep here, not yet, he wasn't ready in some odd way. It just felt wrong to him. Slowly but surely he was losing the fight to stay awake, and headed to his old bedroom. The bed that was there was much too small for him now, but weariness overcame discomfort, and he drifted into a shadow-filled sleep.

* * *


	2. The Missed and the Missing

* * *

Tsuki:

Okay hewo! Told ya the next chappy would be up soon. Any who, this one's short, but the next one will be longer, guaranteed! Well, today to do our disclaimer is the one and only, Ino!!!

Ino: *squeels* thanks so much Tsuki-chan! Alrighty, so Tsuki does not own Naruto! Poor thing. Oh, and remember to stop by Yamanaka flower shop, where-

Tsuki: Alright, thanks Ino… *sweatdrop* Ah our favorite blonde banshee…

Ino: What did you call me!? You're getting as bad as Billboard Brow, Tsuki!! Don't make me-

Tsuki: *Ino rants in the background* Well everyone, here goes nothing!

^.^

Sakura sat in her room, silently staring at a picture of her old team. Naruto and Sasuke glared daggers at each other, while Kakashi had his hands ruffling their hair. She was happy as could be, smiling as if nothing bad had ever happened in between the boys. She wished so desperately that she could go back to that time and freeze the moment, just smiling like that with her boys forever and ever. It was dark outside already, and a few tears slipped onto the glass cover of the photo. Sakura put it back on her nightstand so that it would face her, and then laid down, staring at it long and hard. Praying, hoping, wishing, begging for it all to be a dream, and any moment she would wake up and get ready for another day of training with them. A totally normal happy day.

That never happened though, and she was stupid to wish it was a dream she knew. Rain tapped her window panes, the cold beginning to seep through, and she absent mindedly wondered what made Sasuke return. This was at least the twentieth time she's pondered that since she heard of his return, but still…

_Still what, Sakura?_ She thought. _You still think he came back for someone other than himself? You still hope that maybe he might just possibly care for you in some way?_ She glared at herself for saying such a thing, because she knew Sasuke wasn't like that before Orochimaru-teme bit him. Her gaze shifted to a newer picture of team 7, Yamamoto smiling casually, Naruto glaring at Sai, Sai smiling ever so slightly, and her, with the fakest smile of all. _Or was it fake? I can't remember. No it was fake, or wait…_ She couldn't recall; it had been a while ago. She was tired, but she simply could not bring herself to sleep. No matter how many tears she had fought from weeping, no matter how much stress and pressure her heart had gone through today, she just could not sleep.

You see, sleep quite obviously brought dreams. These dreams that would most likely occur tonight were not ones Sakura wanted to have, filled with pain and memories she tried to etch away from her thoughts completely (-failure-). No, she simply did not want to be troubled by these dreams- nightmares tonight. She just wanted to cry and be numb, to not feel anything. _Isn't feeling just so over-rated? People have been feeling for too long._ She laughed to herself slightly at the bad humor.

_Everything's so over-rated. The hate, the hurt, the joy, the sorrow, the anger, the frustration…_ She yawned. _And yes, the love too, possibly the most of them all. Love… too much, too much, too…_ Her bed was so comfortable, and she was so sleepy…

A knock echoed from her front room all the way down to her bedroom. She woke up with disheveled hair, a tear-stained face, pillow-imprints on her forehead, and a massive headache. She moaned in disregard to the visitor, not wanting to leave her comfy shelter. Yet the person at the door was so damn persistent. The knock sounded again and again and again until finally she rose from her covers like a stiff zombie.

"Coming, coming." She yelled out her window, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. On her way down she grabbed a brush, and combed through her hair, then threw it in a quick pony. The door swung open before she reached it.

"Hey Sakura, I found your spare key, you know, you really shouldn't keep it under the mat, that's so typical. Seriously, that's the first place anybody would look." Ino ranted.

"Hey Ino, yeah I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"I'm sorry, I know. Come here." She pulled me into an embrace and just hung on for a moment. "You want to talk about it? I'll put on some tea, go sit in your living room." _Jeez, you'd think this was her house._ Sakura obeyed and headed to her living room, plopping down onto her comfy couch. _God everything's just so cozy today… Maybe it was just because I let all my sad out last night._ Sakura laughed a little, and Ino poked her head out from the kitchen.

"What are you laughing about?" She inquired, still looking at me. I waved, dismissing her back to her tea-duty.

"Nothing Ino, just something I was thinking."

"You're going crazy Fore-head, I swear." Her voice had a joking tone to it, but it sounded a little concerned. _Does she seriously think that him returning is making me go insane?_

Ino waltzed back out into the living room, and set a dup of steaming tea in front of Sakura. Said girl sniffed it and grimaced. "Yuck Ino, green tea, really?" The blonde rolled her eyes.

"It helps with aging. Now anyway, so what's up? How'd everything turn out?" Once more, Sakura grimaced.

"He didn't say a word to me. He barely glanced even. Do you think he…" A lump formed in her throat. "Do you think he forgot about me?" Her voice cracking at the end, Ino embraced her friend.

"No, I don't think he could ever forget you. He was probably just nervous, you know? I mean, he was about to get the death penalty. Still, that stupid teme traitor…" she grumbled on.

"Ino, please don't call him that."

"Oh, right, sorry Sakura-san…" Everything was quiet for a moment, Ino sipping her tea, Sakura staring at the steam that swirled in different shapes as it rose, then disappeared. "So… I take it you still love him…"

"I… I don't know. Yes maybe? Yes, I think I still do. You never really fall out of love with someone, do you?" She laughed darkly, with little humor in her voice.

"When are you going to visit him? Can you at least?"

"Yes, I can. And I'm not sure, tomorrow perhaps."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, Naruto and Kakashi will hopefully. If not, I'll call you." Ino nodded. Then laughed with less humor than that which was absent in Sakura's own, moments before.

"Tomorrow then, is the day the heart is broken and bandaged at the same time, no?"

"Ino, that was a terrible metaphor…"

"I know, I'm still working on it, cut me some slack. Well okay," Ino rose and stretched. "I've got to get to the flower shop, you can help out today, okay? Anything to get your mind off that trai- Sasuke."

"Right, thanks so much Ino…"

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, we have an urgent update!" The white-haired ANBU stormed into the Hokage's office, where she herself was a bit tipsy from the sake, yet immediately snapped out of it from the panicked tone of the nin before her.

"Yes, what is it? It better be important." The ANBU nodded.

"It is my lady! Orochimaru lives! Some of the scouts spotted him on the outskirts of The Land of Fire, yet his plans are unknown. We must take precaution, it's rumored he's still after Sasuke."

"Very well then," Tsunade stood up and took on a bolder stance from her previous slouch. "Send the troops out to spy on him, I want the Black Opps to remain here, as well as all the Genin and Jounin. We will not let this slide, this is life or death. All missions outside the village are to be canceled, we must prepare for anything Orochimaru has set up for. Send your squad out there stat, Tsuki!" The ANBU nodded and disappeared in a puff of gray smoke.

_So, Orochimaru returns…_ Tsunade spun her chair around and stared out at Konoha, so peaceful after the rain-storm yesterday. _Sasuke returns too. Well, this could be interesting._

* * *

Sasuke sat in the front room again, as ANBU around him began moving in the furniture they had reprimanded after he returned, as to clean it. His eyes remained closed and his thoughts turned to his pink-haired team-mate. This time however, they did stray. He pondered why she hadn't visited him yet, he had assumed that on the second day she would have mustered up enough confidence to come and at least interrogate him. Yet there was no sign of her, nor even her chakra sign. Surely she hadn't forgot about him, no he imagined her mind didn't stray too far from him much in the past day. The fact was though, that she hadn't even come near his house.

The chakra restraints were really beginning to bug him, but he did not try to break free. In reality, Sasuke wanted to stay in Konoha, and though he'd never admit it, he was grateful for the second chance. But he could not shake the feeling of wanting to see Sakura, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't even find a reason! Possibly it was because he already saw Naruto, and wanted to see the rest of the team. That didn't seem to really hit the nail on the head though…

There was a faint chakra of some sort, which sent chills up his spine. One that he could sense from anywhere, from fear of it, fear and hatred. Then again, perhaps it was only his imagination.


	3. Meeting Old Friends

Tsuki: _Chapter three, Yay! Well, in this Chapter, things will finally start happening! But of course it will probably be a bit till me next chapter *Ears go back and glares*, but I will hurry! So now for the disclaimer is… well, I never got anyone so this time it will be me._

Disclaimer (Tsuki):_ I do not own, nor will I ever (lest I come by millions of dollars or take over the world) own Naruto. Kishimoto does, and he's doing a fairly good job! Go Kishimoto-sensei! Well, talking to myself is getting boring, so enjoy (and please please please review if you love me)!_

Spokesperson: _Just one review a day, could help save little Tsuki here's life. So please, review now. Thank you._

Tsuki: _*looks like a little orphan playing in a puddle, then looks up with pleading eyes* lol I know, that was uncalled for._

^..^

"Sakuraaaaaaa get uuuuuuuuppp!!" Ino pounded on Sakura's bedroom door, since she stayed the night after their work at the Yamanaka Flower Shop the other day. Finally, after hearing no response, Ino barged into her best friend's room. "Sakura come on, you have to get ready to go! I'm leaving soon, so I thought I'd wake you up before I left."

Sakura rose from her warm mattress, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Thanks Ino." She yawned. "Would you call Naruto and tell him to come over before you leave?" Ino nodded and walked out of her room. Sakura went to her closet and changed into a dry-fit black tank top, her beige skirt, and black leggings. She put on her shoes, leg-warmers, and put her gloves into her kunai pouch. She ran a brush through her hair that reached mid-back (she decided to let it grow out again), and then left her room to say goodbye to Ino.

"Hey Ino, thanks for everything again, y'know." They hugged, and Ino left Sakura's now quiet abode. She made herself some breakfast, but only ate a bit. Hunger was replaced by fear and anxiety. Now it was the waiting game, for Naruto to arrive. It usually didn't take long, but Sakura refused to leave without him. As she sat doing much of nothing, she took off her kunai pouch, deciding against taking it, and for a good reason too. It wasn't so much that Sakura didn't trust Sasuke, no she wanted so badly to trust him, it's just it could never hurt to be too cautious.

The doorbell rang once, which surprised her since usually Naruto rang it like a mad man. Opening the door, she was met with a strangely sad but happy Naruto. His face held a feeble smile, but his brows were tilted in worry, much as the glint of sorrow in his eyes.

"Are you ready Sakura-chan?" He asked.

"Yes, let's go before I change my mind." She locked the door and left with him, their next stop, Sasuke. "You think we should bring Kakashi-sensei?"

"I already talked to him, he said he'd pass. I guess he wants to go see Sasuke on his own."

"Makes sense." There was a beat of silence.

"Sakura, are you sure you want me to come with you?"

"Yes of course. I wouldn't go without you."

"I already went, the night he came back actually." She didn't say anything. "I'm sorry; I just wanted to make sure everything was okay." She interrupted him.

"How is he? What's he like?"

"A lot like before." She smiled a bit. "He's not that talkative but he's as cocky as ever. But he's a lot like before. Maybe a little sadder, a little paler too, but he's healthy, maybe not mentally, but physically."

"That's okay, I didn't expect much…" They neared the compound now, after a while of just walking in comfortable, but tense silence.

"You sure you want to do this?" Naruto reached out for the gate that was the only barrior between them, and Sasuke. She nodded, and he pushed it open, heading for the door.

* * *

_What is that chakra signature?_ Sasuke rose from his bed, and an ANBU immediately entered to help him get dressed, holding onto the temporarily removed chakra restraints. Of course there was an entire group in there watching him. When he was finished, they quickly put the restraints back on, and he walked hastily to the front room, standing in the arch on the opposite side of the front door. The ANBU already knew who was here, Sasuke did too. His heart began racing, and he checked his pulse in confusion. _Why is this happening? _He thought. _Is it just excitement?_

"You have a visitor." The ANBU in the swirled mask told him. He said nothing, didn't even bother to nod; his eyes were glued to the door, and finally, it creaked open, revealing Naruto. Sasuke's heart sunk for a split second, much to his shock, until the pink-haired girl he so oddly longed to see entered his house. He involuntarily stepped forward a bit, and Naruto watched his every move.

"Sasuke…" Sakura looked at him, and her eyes were red with tears forming, but she didn't let them spill at all.

His voice was caught in his throat, and he wasn't sure what to think. His arms fell stupidly in front of him; the restraints not letting him put them at his sides. Sasuke just stared for a moment. "Hello Sakura." Her name felt weird to say. He hadn't said it in years. They were both seventeen now, so it had been quite a while. Sakura refrained from hugging him, but couldn't help reaching out slightly.

Sasuke's heart cried for it when he say her hand go out slightly, it cried so much it ached. It literally ached for her touch. Since he had arrived back in Konoha, the only people who had touched him did it with force and coldness. It was like he was a leper, but no; they apparently didn't understand he was still human, no matter how much he had done. He was only human. Sakura understood that, and it burned a hole through his ice heart to see her like that.

Naruto stood in front of her still, and she withdrew her hand, but made her way towards him. His heart rate soared, and she was a mere foot away, and this time she hesitantly put her hand on his shoulder. He froze. They said nothing.

"Are you alright…?" She asked slowly, nervously, her emerald eyes frantically searching his own coal ones for some life. For a moment, she swore she saw a spark of some emotion. He nodded, and wished for a moment he didn't have the restraints, so he could put his hand over her own. Naruto stood wearily in the corner, and then suddenly left the room. "Naruto, where are you going?"

"I'm going to talk to the ANBU; I'll be right back Sakura-chan." She turned back to him, and he couldn't help himself. Slowly, he lifted his hands, and placed his calloused fingers on her cheek. The tips of his hands tingled from the light touch; it had been so long since he had any friendly contact with anyone. Sakura was startled by this action, and stood perfectly still until his hands dropped again.

"Did you….Did you really come back on your own?" Her voice cracked, and he inwardly flinched.

"Yes I did. I…wanted to." He struggled to say the last part, but she didn't notice. He really did want to, but it was tough for him to voice his feelings, he usually didn't, but to her, it seemed it came natural. He looked right into her eyes, and saw everything.

He saw how strong she had become, and how independent. He saw how she would never again be a 'fangirl', how she wanted nothing more than to hug him, yet he wasn't sure whether it be friendly, or more. After all, she and Naruto seemed close now. Yet he also saw, deep within her, the young twelve year old with endless dreams and starry eyes. The one he protected without a second thought so many times before, the one he left.

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. She smiled lightly, surprising him a bit. "I'm so glad to have you back Sasuke." He simply nodded, unsure of what to say to that. Good to be back? No, he decided against saying anything. Naruto walked in, and acknowledged Sasuke.

"It is good to have you back. After all, it's never good to lose a friend." Sakura agreed with Naruto's statement happily, and then Naruto opened the shoji door. "The ANBU said we had to leave early today, their busy cleaning, but we'll be back to visit tomorrow. But the next day I won't be here, Tsunade wants to talk to me. Bye Sasuke, come on Sakura." Naruto exited the room, and Sasuke heard the sound of the gate creak moments later when he left.

Sakura stepped back, and then turned towards the door. "Bye Sasuke, I'll see you tomorrow, okay? We might not stop by until later though, but we'll visit you every day!" She walked out the door, and Sasuke took a step forward.

"Goodbye…Sakura." He choked out, the words seemingly hard to say. _What's wrong with me?_ He wondered.

^..^

Tsuki: _Well there you have it. Good? Bad? Well anyways, I suppose I'll start working on my next chapter. Thank you to the following people for reviewing last time:_

_sasusakufan9573_

XxFlowerAngelxX

_You guys rock, you're my first reviewers! Yay, cookies for you! Well, I don't have any cookies, but thank you so very much! *wags tail* Well, I will get my new chapter on the way, and if anyone has suggestions for the story, or requested couples that I should add, so shall it be! I usually like SasuSaku, SaiIno, NaruHina, ShikaTema, KakaKurei, ect ect. So review if you like folks, and the next chapter will be up whenever I get to it (shouldn't be too long). Bye!_


	4. OneSided Love Or Is It?

Tsuki:_ Hey everybody. Okay, well this is chapter four, and I'm sure there will be a lot of chapters in this story! I just have trouble writing short stories. *sweatdrops* I plan to make this a bit fluffier now! Yet you'll probably have to wait until the next chapter for that, since in the chapter Sakura and Sasuke will be alone._

_Alright for those of you who may have wondered: Yes, there will be a fight later on. Yes, Sasuke will soon be able to go outside. And no, Naruto is not interested in Sakura, nor jealous of Sasuke. So here we are then, another chapter and only a few reviews… *whimpers* Disclaimer by Tsunade-shishou._

Tsunade: _Tsuki Naitosora does not own Naruto. And Tsuki, cheer up, I'll take you out to gamble tonight!_

Tsuki:_ Thanks Tsunade-shishou, but I'll pass. Here you are… I'm losing interest in this story, it seems like no one likes it…_

^..^

Tsunade was already in her office as the sun finished is rise from the horizon, papers on her desk, and stamps lying all over. This was a major change in the Hokage tower since Tsunade became Hokage, and Shizune was pleased to see her doing paper-work. But then again, this time it was about something very concerning. The Hokage mumbled to herself as she read the papers, and stamped different things onto them, every once in a while, asking Shizune what she thought, or for her to get something for her. Surprisingly, there was no sake requested. This was truly important to her.

"Shizune, what time will the requested ANBU I sent for?"

Shizune flipped through the papers on her clipboard. "They should be here any moment." Tsunade cursed under her breath, then continued stamping paperwork. Finally the door to her office swung open revealing a smiling Naruto, a bored looking Shikamaru, and Kiba with Akamaru.

"Hey Grandma Tsunade! What's up, do we have a special mission to go on?!" Naruto slammed his fists down on her desk sending papers flying. Tsunade glared and hit him over the head. "Ow… Jeez I was just asking…"

"No, all I want you to do is contact all the Genin, Chuunin, and Jounin about some very important information." She pulled out three large sized bags of scrolls. "You will deliver these to each of them."

"What exactly is this information?" Shikamaru looked in defeat at the big 'troublesome' bags.

Tsunade rose from her desk, and sighed. "We have reason to believe, sightings in fact, that Orochimaru lives." A chorus of surprised expressions and sounds came from the Jounin (yes even from Shikamaru). "I know I know, but we cannot let the citizens know of this yet. Tomorrow, I will be sending you to scout it out. I want you to report back immediately once you find even the slightest information. I will not let this turn into a dangerous mission. You are dismissed, everyone take a bag." They nodded and grabbed one each. When they left, Shizune looked skeptically at Tsunade.

"Why did you ask for them for that mission to scout specifically?"

"Simple enough, Kiba has an excellent sense of smell, and Akamaru is a good tracker. Shikamaru can keep them under control, and act as a leader, as well as be logical enough to know when to leave and keep them from fighting. And Naruto, well, no one knows what Orochimaru would do more than him. Even I am a little at loss of what is on his mind…"

* * *

Closing her closet, Sakura changed into a red tank top, with dry-fit black shorts that ended at her knees, and strapped on an empty (despite her gloves) white kunai pouch, along with black ninja shoes. She tied a red ninja headband to hold her hair back, and went outside. She walked down the local market which was open that day, and went to the fruit stand.

"Good morning Sakura!" The old man at the stand waved to her. "What can I get for you?"

"Just two tomatoes please, oh, and an apple! The freshest, ripest ones you have!" He handed her what she asked for, and she gave him the yen she owed. "Thank you!"

Quickly she left the market with a smile on her face. It surprised her how happy she was to be visiting Sasuke. This time, Naruto would not be joining her until a bit later, since Tsunade suddenly summoned him. She ran along the road to her raven-haired team mate, and swung the gates open when she reached there. An ANBU at the front door nodded to her, inspected the bag, and then let her inside.

"Sasuke, I'm here." She said, but soon saw he was sitting outside, in the shade of the awning though. He was staring out at the courtyard, the cherry blossom trees had few flowers, since spring was ending, but all other plants were in full bloom. She walked out and stood in the sun; he looked up at her and nodded. "I brought these for you." She took a tomato out of the bag. "I recalled you liked them."

She put it in front of him, but when he reached out, she pulled it away. He gave her a look of confusion. "No no, let's get you into the sun. You're pale as a ghost!" Sasuke cringed silently as he recalled his haunting dreams. Begrudgingly, he stood. "Good, now come on!" She stepped out a bit more.

"This is ridiculous." He scoffed.

"No come on! You need vitamin D; it's unhealthy to stay out of the sun all the time!" Sasuke noted her pale skin and thought her a hypocrite, but was then reminded that she had always had delicate ivory skin. He just looked at her for a while, smiling like she does, like he remembered. She seemed so quick to accept him as a friend again, he was as well, but he lived life with his mind, and decided to give it time. But so desperately did he want everything to go back to how it was (though he knows it cannot entirely).It seemed better to him that he could just act like nothing happened; it hurt both of them too much to talk about it. Sakura knew just by the look in his eyes when he looked at her, that he was terribly sorry, even if he didn't realize it.

He took a step out, and she handed him the tomato, she herself eating an apple. Sakura smiled lightly, and walked out to tour the garden. "Naruto will be here soon. He had something he needed to take care of." She lifted a lily that was drooping, off of the ground. "Has Kakashi visited you yet?"

"Yes." He took a few more steps out and stood, watching the ANBU in one corner of the garden.

"What'd he have to say?"

"Nothing."

"Really?" He grunted, and she frowned.

"Sakura, Sasuke, where are you?" It was Naruto.

"We're outside Naruto!" She called, soon he appeared, handed her a scroll, and quietly told her what it was without Sasuke hearing. Her eyes widened, and she tucked the scroll into her kunai pouch.

"Hey Sasuke." Naruto said, and Sasuke nodded.

"Naruto." Sakura and Naruto carried on conversations, and laughed with each other. Much of the time, they tried to get Sasuke to contribute to the talking, but he never did. Perhaps he enjoyed just watching them laugh, it reminded him of a time when they were young. Suddenly, his memory flashed back to the team's picnic, Sakura had made onigiri's, and they had sat together talking and laughing. All of them, him, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi, on that warm spring day more than three years prior.

Sasuke began to get dizzy with guilt. He had ruined it all. He had torn the team apart, they don't even laugh like they used to. Something was missing and it was his entire fault!

"Sasuke, are you alright? You don't look to hot." It was Naruto. He looked a little worried.

"Can we go on a picnic?" Sakura and Naruto looked at each other with a mix of shock and skepticism.

"I'm sure we could, but you'd have to wait a while. They won't let you outside yet. Why?" Sakura inquired. Sasuke just shook his head, trying to rid of his guilt. Sakura put her hand on his forehead, and grabbed his chin, holding him to eye level. She inspected his eyes. "You're running a fever. Are you sure you're okay? We should get you inside." His vision began to blur as they helped him into the house.

Sakura asked him something but he didn't hear what. Images ran through his head, faces of his family, and everyone he's ever cared about. Repeatedly Sakura showed up, and pictures of Itachi killing her, her blood splattering all over the walls, and him walking into the room afterwards, just like when his parents…

Sasuke let out a groan, and the two helped him onto the couch. "Naruto, get me a cold damp cloth, and a basin, stat!"

"Sakura I don't know where…" She tore off a piece of cloth from Naruto's jacket. "Hey! Sakuraaa!" He whined.

"Just get it damp! There should be a bowl in the kitchen! Go, his fever is rising!" Naruto ran off to the kitchen and was back in no time. He laid the cloth over Sasuke's sweating forehead and a few ANBU appeared around them. They backed off when they saw Sakura, with her ANBU tattoo.

"What's wrong?" One of them asked.

"High fever and its building. Leave, now. I'll take care of it, and get these stupid restraints off of him!" The ANBU exchanged nervous glances, but one of them took them off. Only one ANBU remained now, watching just to make sure. Sasuke groaned, and gritted his teeth.

"Can you not just heal him; you are the renowned medic Sakura, aren't you?"

"I could if it was a wound. This is a fever; it cannot be healed with chakra, unlike open or internal wounds." The ANBU nodded, then placed the restraint on the table.

"Put this back on him when you are done. We will check up on him later, but we trust you for now." Sakura nodded and the ANBU disappeared.

"Will he be okay Sakura?" Naruto asked, looking at the Uchiha.

"He will if we can get the fever down. Naruto, remember those plants I gave you when you had a fever? Do you remember what they look like?" He nodded.

"Yeah, the licorice roots, hyssop and thyme?"

"Exactly, now go out to the garden, in the left hand corner is an herbal garden, across the bridge on the koi pond, and get me some." Naruto left to fetch the herbs, and Sakura went to the kitchen and started to boil some water. Once Naruto brought back the herbs, she made a tea and brought it out to Sasuke. "This should bring down his temperature."

Sasuke was still sweating and thrashing as she helped him to drink the tea. Once he finally drank it all, she threw a blanket over him, and her and Naruto waited. The fever went down a bit, but he was still very warm.

"It's getting late Sakura; I'm going to head home. Are you coming?"

"Not yet, I want to get his fever down a little more. Bye Naruto." They exchanged hugs, and then he left. Once she heard the gate close, she sighed and looked out at the dawning, pink and yellow sky. "Now it's just you and me. We've been here a while, huh?" She said partly to herself, partly to Sasuke who may or may not hear her.

She stroked his raven hair; it was nice to have him back. His return had been strange though. He had simply showed up at the gates unharmed, and took himself to the Hokage's Tower, fully admitting to everything he did, even saying once in a very short word, that he felt remorse. It was all his own choice. It wasn't long before his temperature was near normal, and he was sound asleep. He did not look peaceful, his face was contorted with fear, but as the sun went down, Sakura knew she had to return home. Begrudgingly, she fluffed the pillow under him, pulled the blanket up, and rose from where she had sat. "Bye Sasuke." Sakura looked at him pale face for a moment, remembering how much she loved to see it when she was younger. "Not much changes does it?" She said to herself, then leaned down and planted a light kiss on his brow. For a split second, she even thought the fear and pain on his face had melted away.

She put his restraints back on, but loosened it a bit (though he still couldn't escape), and gave him some room to move his hands to his sides. Finally she left the Uchiha Compound, and locked the gate. Tomorrow she'd be there without Naruto, and without an unconscious Sasuke, she was almost afraid but maybe things would turn out alright. _Maybe…_ She smiled.

^..^

Tsuki:_ Another chapter finished! I'm on a roll! I just wish more people would review, and give me some good ideas! But it is fun to write. So no thanks to anyone this time around because only two people have reviewed (thanks again to them), but you know, I'll keep going most likely._

_Well, on to the next chapter! Which I need some serious ideas for… So review and I shall give you credit where credit is due! Thank everyone who's reading this! Bye!_


	5. The Cat and the Kiss

Tsuki:_ Hello, here's number five, hope you like it! Well, I'm going to start working on some other stories too, like I have this one, The Haruno Festival, that's a SasuSaku as well, but it's like a 12,000 word one-shot, so I have to change that, and I'm not sure if I'm going to post it, because I don't really have an ending yet. Hahaha, yeah I just make up my stories as I go along._

_Okay, disclaimer today is by my best friend, and shape-shifter, Mizuki!_

Mizuki:_ Hey Tsuki-chan! Alright, Tsuki doesn't own Naruto, but you know you wish she did! Ha!_

Tsuki: _Aw thanks Mizuki, you so rock! Cookies for you! Here goes all I got (since no one is giving me idea's, I'll wing it)!_

^..^

Sasuke awoke on his couch, flying up from his previous position, and panting heavily from his nightmare. A slightly damp rag fell from his forehead and onto his lap. _Sakura…_ He touched his brow, which tingled oddly as he tried to remember what she was saying to him the night before. Her words were a fog in his half-sleep, but he remembered feeling a soft pressure just above his eye-brow. He staggered into the kitchen, and found some herbs and a note. It read:

_**Sasuke,**_

_**If you wake up and still have a fever or are sick, here's some herbs to help. Just boil some water and make a tea. I will be over later, and don't be too active, no matter how good you feel. Remember, Naruto will not be stopping by today, he's been sent on a short mission.**_

_**-Sakura**_

He left the note where it was, and made some of the tea. It tasted bitter, but he knew it would help. He trusted Sakura. His cup dropped, shattering on the ground and glass flying everywhere. _I trusted Sakura._ This came as a shock to him, never before had he trusted anyone. Paralyzed with a strange feeling, he began to clean as an ANBU came in the kitchen as a result of the crash. He left when he saw it was just a cup that had fallen.

A headache lingered as he thought about what he just realized. It was strange for him to trust someone so completely like he (just realized he) trusted Sakura. When he finished cleaning, he went to his garden and got the herbs he remembered. He knew there were three, but only knew two of them, the licorice root, and the thyme. He brewed another tea, and sipped the bitter substance silently on his couch as he waited for Sakura. Seeing his teammates was quite obviously the only highlight of his day, after all, what else would he do? He was very thankful they visited, not that he'd ever admit that.

The sun had only just risen so he knew she wouldn't be arriving yet. Usually she didn't come until noon. He decided to go outside, and though the sun was out, it was somewhat chilly. For a while he just listened to the sound of the water in the pond, and the koi swam about, and the birds that sat in the cherry-trees. One sound however was not like one he was used to. In the background, he heard a small mewing noise, and soon discovered a disheveled cat in one of the trees. She was all black with green eyes, and very fluffy. It just kept mewing and mewing until finally Sasuke grabbed it out of the tree, silently thanking Sakura for making the length of the restraints longer, since he knew no ANBU did it.

The cat stopped it incessant noise-making as Sasuke stroked it mangled fur. It purred quietly, and Sasuke felt stupid petting the little thing. Awkwardly, he brought it inside, and brushed the tangles out of its fur until it was smooth again. He poured it some milk, and took out all he had that the ANBU hadn't taken (you see they make his simple meals). It was the other tomato Sakura had given him. He chopped it, wondering absently whether or not cats liked tomatoes. He put it down in the dish that the milk had been it, and the cat sniffed it once, and then ate it. He smirked as the young kitty looked up at him, mewling for more.

Sasuke went to the door that led to the garden, and opened it, waiting for the cat to leave. It went to the door, and then looked up at him, not budging. The two had a staring contest, the cat winning. He sighed and closed the door. Obviously he had a new companion for the time being. The raven-haired boy went back to the couch and the cat lay next to him. He looked into its eyes and thought he saw a similar design from that which was his curse mark. He felt for it cautiously, but reminded himself he got rid of it long ago.

It really was a nice cat. He stroked it and it purred without flinching away. It was nice to have something around him that didn't know of all the terrible things he had done, that thought he was as innocent as it came. He sat like this with the young cat for quite a while, and only once did an ANBU ask about it. Soon the clock struck noon, and not five minutes later, his female teammate walked through his door smiling.

"Hello Sasuke, I'm here." She noted the cat on his lap, and laughed lightly at the uninterested expression he had as he stroked its dark fur. "Aw, what a cute cat, who's is it?" He shrugged. "Are you going to keep it?"

"No." The cat mewed and jumped off his lap to inspect Sakura.

"Alright, then I will. What should we name her?" He shrugged again, and Sakura scoffed. "I'll name her… Jinxy." He looked at her.

"Jinxy?"

"Yes, I think it's cute." Jinxy looked up at her with big green eyes. Sakura watched as Jinxy bounded off into the deeper parts of the house, and then sat next to Sasuke. She eyed the empty bowl with a few drops of milk still left. "It was nice of you to take care of the cat." He grunted. "Well, I mean, it's nice to know you haven't become solid ice…" Her eyes darkened and she looked down.

He watched her, and grunted again. "You took care of me?" She nodded, knowing he was referring to the night before. "Thank you." Sakura froze, a wave of fear sweeping over her heart. She stood and stepped back, then he realized with a pang what he had just said. "Sakura, that's not what I meant!" His voice was like a loud whisper, but his face still held little emotion.

Subconsciously he reached his hand out for her, but she backed away. His eyes filled with fury and sorrow as she did so, suddenly flashing for only a moment to red. She whimpered and took a few more steps back. She was afraid because she would never hurt him, even if he did something. She couldn't bring herself to do that after all she went through to bring him back. And deep deep inside, she knew he would never hurt her. Nonetheless, she was afraid. He took two steps forward every one step back that she took, his eyes still dangerously flashing.

A feeling of déjà vu came over her, and she felt tears sting. Soon he stopped; not only walking, but his eyes stopped flashing. Now they were a solid red form of third level sharingan, with resent flooding them. "Why are you afraid of me?" His voice was pleading. Now Sakura wasn't so sure he wouldn't hurt her.

"Sasuke, stop this!"

"Stop what, are you scared Sakura!?" He took a dangerous step closer, and she watched helplessly. Sakura couldn't take it any longer, she walked towards him, and embraced him a long hug, not letting go. She felt his chest rise and fall with his heavy breathing, and she felt his glare burrow a hole through her heart. Sakura couldn't hold the tears back either.

"Sasuke you have to calm down." She sobbed, and his grip that he had on her loosened. "If you don't," she continued, "if you don't they'll take you away from m-me… They'll take you away…" She wailed, soaking his shirt through, and Jinxy hid behind the couch. His eyes flickered to black as she said this, widening ever so slightly. He stood, restraints keeping his hands between them so he couldn't hug her, which helped, because he knew he shouldn't. Yet there was nothing to keep him from burying his face in her hair as she cried for him. His anger still lingered, this time however, over the fact that he had made her cry again.

He closed his eyes and breathed in her gentle smell, savoring her being there with him. Sasuke was so unsure of the feeling that had a hold of him now, it was something he thought he had lost, and couldn't quite place what it was. Happiness? No, he decided, this was far better than happiness. It was wonderful, but made his heart ache at the same time. He felt his shirt soaking through, and knew that guilt was about to ride over him again. This time however, it wouldn't result in a fever most likely. She stepped back from him, and wiped the tears from her eyes. Her hair was wet and some of it stuck to her face, like it had back in the academy days before she met Ino.

Sasuke stared at her. She could've gotten hurt, but she didn't worry about that when she hugged him. Gently, he tugged a piece of her hair, and she looked up at him with watery green eyes, like Jinxy's.

"Annoying…" He said as he tucked her hair behind her ears. She watched him as he put his hands on her cheeks and looked deep into her eyes. She was mesmerized by the look he gave her, a mix of emotions. Guilt, happiness, sorrow, and was it… love? Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against her own, and everything stopped. Time stood still, and Sakura's breath hitched.

"What's going on?" An ANBU appeared and the two broke apart.

"Nothing, the uh… cat just startled me." Sakura said and the ANBU watched her carefully.

"What about the tears?" He pointed out.

"What's with the interrogation?" She countered, and the ANBU just nodded and disappeared. Sakura turned back to Sasuke. "I need to know something…" She began, but Sasuke didn't let her finish. He didn't kiss her; instead he grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs to the hall. Sasuke opened a door to what she assumed to be the master bedroom; probably his parent's room. In the corner was a vanity, and he opened the drawer beneath the mirror. He pulled out a necklace; it was the Uchiha emblem, made of little diamonds and rubies, with a thin silver chain.

"What's this?" She asked.

"It was Mikoto's."_His mother…_ She thought. "I want you to have it, but you have to promise to come back every day." She stepped back.

"Sasuke I can't take that."

"Yes you can." He put it in her hands. "You have to, and you have to come back or I think… I'll go insane." She furrowed her brows.

"Sasuke what are you talking about? This makes no sense, of course I'll come back, you're my friend, and I won't leave you. But I'm simply not taking that necklace; it's far too precious to you." He stared at her, and she stared back. Soon she thought she saw his face lean in, but as she blinked she knew she wasn't imagining it. He leaned towards her, closing his eyes, and she closed hers. It wasn't long before their lips touched.

It was a chaste kiss, not rough by any means. But it made Sakura's heart soar. _This is so… Sasuke is kissing me… wait. Sasuke's kissing me!_ She pushed him back. "What are you thinking!? I don't, I could never… What on earth?" Her eyes widened and she stood back, his eyes were still dazed. Sakura walked backwards to the door, and ran out, leaving Sasuke standing there, the necklace in hand.

_I scared her._ He thought. _Perhaps I'm moving too fast. Perhaps she doesn't care for me._ He doubted that though, she had professed her love to him long ago. _Why did I do that?_ He looked down at the necklace, and couldn't understand what had made him want to give her this. More so, what had made him kiss her? His heart was a cornucopia of strange and conflicting emotions as he tried to recall what he had been thinking. _I wonder if she will come back tomorrow…_ He had no doubt she would though. He wasn't worried. Just confused, very very confused.

^..^

Tsuki: _*gasp*! Bad Sasuke, scaring poor Sakura! Well chapter five everyone! Not bad for a spur of the moment thing, I think. Well, thanks to the following person for reviewing:_

_F0r all The Wr0nG ReAs0ns_

_Thank you so so so much! I appreciate your review, and I tried to make the characters not too OOC. Yet I'm not sure exactly where this story is headed, but I have an idea… Anyway, thanks again! Bye everyone, and review please!_


	6. Acceptance

Tsuki: _And here we are chapter six. Now let's see how Sakura handled the kiss! Okay, I'm not going to lie, I need some serious ideas, and I will give you credit for them if I use one! So please don't make me strain and stress over this or it may never get done. *ears go back and puppy eyes*_

_Today to do the disclaimer is Sasuke! Yay! Go Sasuke-san!_

Sasuke: _Hn… Tsuki doesn't own shit._

Tsuki: _*whacks Sasuke on the head* watch your mouth and say it right!_

Sasuke: _…*sighs* Tsuki doesn't own Naruto._

Tsuki: _Thanks Sasuke!_ _Now then! Let's do this mother!_

Sasuke: _Okay… Don't call me mother._

Tsuki: _*sweatdrop*_

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Sakura paced her house again today, for what seemed like the one-billionth time in a row. The night before she had spent in her room, crying and thinking about what happened, criticizing everything she did and didn't do. Changing then rechanging her thoughts on it (it being the kiss mainly).

_I can't believe I over-reacted over such a small word!_ She screamed inwardly. _All he said was thank you! I should be grateful! Maybe it was just too soon though… maybe it just brought back too many memories…_ She shook her head violently, and plopped down onto her couch, staring out at the road. _Ugh I am __**so**__ angry! I just need to go train!_

She went to her closet and changed into her outfit from two days ago, the red tank and the black dry-fit shorts. This time she filled her kunai pouch to the brim, and put her gloves on, along with her red headband. Sakura ran to the training fields as fast as she could, and set up some dummies for her to hit. In no time there was a pile of dummy-carnage next to her.

"Hiiiiiya!" She kicked the one she was currently, brutally killing. This one's fate was just the same. After beating the shit (and stuffing and pride) out of the twentieth dummy, she finished, sweating in anger. Laughing slightly at the pile of stuffing around her, she plopped down on the cool grass and looked up at the cloudy blue sky.

"Yo." Sakura turned her head and saw Kakashi standing before her.

"Kakashi-sensei," she stood and dusted herself off. "What are you doing here?"

"Just stopping by to say hey, I saw you here and decided why not."

"So I heard you talked to Sasuke."

"That I did." His nose was buried in his book as he talked to her.

"What'd he have to say?"

"Not much, not much." Sakura was quiet now, and a blush appeared as she thought of why she came here in the first place. "What's wrong, Sakura?"

"Kakashi, can I tell you something?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "Okay, yesterday I went to Sasuke's, right? And so we were talking and having an okay time, and then he said 'thank you', and I freaked out." He nodded understandingly. "So I hugged him and he stopped, but then he kissed me, and I ran off! Was that the right thing to do?"

"I don't know, you love him?" She shrugged.

"I think so…"

"You got to know so Sakura."

"I do."

"Okay, then it wasn't wrong or right. It's up to you what you do." He shrugged now, and continued reading.

"But what if he just did it because he was going crazy all locked up in his house or something?!"

"Sakura, that sounds crazy. But I'll tell you what, tomorrow I'll talk to the other ANBU and the Hokage, and all of the old team 7 will go outside and hang out, just like we used to."

"Okay…" He began to walk off. "Wait! Can we have a picnic when we go out?" He didn't look up, and nodded. Sakura smiled as her old sensei walked off. Unknowingly to her, he was smiling too.

_A picnic, huh?_ He smiled. _Things don't change… _Kakashi was actually somewhat excited to see how things would turn out though.

Tsunade sat in her office, with the ninja she had sent on the mission not long ago. Shikamaru, Kiba, and even Naruto all looked very serious.

"We have found that it wasn't Orochimaru Tsunade," Shikamaru began. "But it is someone to be cautious of."

"I'm listening." She said, leaning back and putting her hands together.

"It's Kabuto, Lady Tsunade." Kiba said, and Akamaru barked at the sound of the name.

"Kabuto Yakushi, I see… Well then, precautions still need to be taken, but other than that… Shizune," Tsunade summoned her assistant.

"Yes Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked.

"Open all missions outside the village, and schedule an attack on Kabuto. Shikamaru, tell me everything you saw."

He nodded. "We couldn't see much, it was just a camp. There were at least twenty nin though, and they all seemed pretty strong."

"Yeah, Akamaru was freaking out!" Kiba added.

"Anyway, yeah we couldn't get close enough to hear what they were planning. I think we do need to take action though, before they do."

"Thank you, I will take this into consideration. You are dismissed."

"Grandma Tsunade, how is Sasuke?" Naruto asked after the others left.

"He is doing fine. Apparently he's found a little companion, a cat or something, I don't know. But there were rumors among the ANBU that one of them saw Sakura and the Uchiha kissing. This worries me a little; I don't want her getting hurt. Do you think you can visit her for me, Naruto?"

He nodded and left without another word. Naruto felt oddly happy for her, but at the same time was as worried as Tsunade. _I wonder where she is?_ He thought as he left the Tower.

Sakura was still in the training field when she spotted Naruto. She waved him over, and he ran to her, then sat shook her violently.

"Sakura is it true!? Did Sasuke kiss you? Did he hurt you?! Are you angry?!" He yelled and she laughed.

"Yes he did kiss me, no he didn't hurt me, and no I'm not angry, I'm just confused." He smiled and lifted her off the ground, spinning once in a rib-cracking hug.

"I'm so happy for you Sakura! I knew you two would be together! I'm going to tell Hinata right now! She'll be so happy too!"

"Naruto, we aren't together."

"Yeah well you two will be." He laughed and let go of her.

"Hey, we were going to go on a picnic tomorrow, you in?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, oh, how'd the mission go?"

"It turns out it was Kabuto. Grandma Tsunade is planning an attack on him and his group of ninja; they seemed pretty strong when I saw them."

"Oh, that's no good. Well I hope I get drafted, I want to be there to take him down!" They laughed nervously.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. We should meet around noon; I'll pass it on to Kakashi." Sakura nodded, and Naruto walked off. "See ya! I have to go meet with Hinata, we're going to do some training at her compound."

"Bye Naruto-niisan!" She waved and smiled as he walked off. _Okay, so maybe this isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be…_ She lay back on the grass; the sun had just risen to its highest point. _Maybe the kiss wasn't so bad after all. _Her smile widened now.

Over head birds flew, and sung their song. The wind gently blew the grass, and the sun shone slight warmth onto her skin. _See Sakura, nothing has stopped. Everything is just going on as normal. Why should you change?_ She laughed to herself, and sat up, getting ready to do some more training. Who knew what tomorrow would bring, but then again, why worry, right?

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Tsuki: _Yay, sixth chapter! It was short I know, the next will be longer most likely. Well, there's only one more chapter left, and then I'll write the sequel (depending on what people say). So in the next one, well… I'll explain it at the end of the next chapter! So let's get a move on!_

_Thank you to this person who reviewed as well:_

xXemocolorluverXx

_You rock as well girl! I understand how you thought they might be dating, but nah, their just beset buddies. You gave me the most reviews! EXTRA cookies for you!! Yay! I'm happy now and will probably write a sequel (I appreciate the ideas!) :] Well, until the next chapter, bye-bye!_


	7. Welcome Home

Tsuki: _Dun dududun dun dun duuuuuun! Final chapter for Change of Heart (before the sequel of course :3) Well today's disclaimer is by Naruto-san! Have at it Naruto!_

Naruto: _Yay! Alright, Tsuki doesn't own Naruto, hehe, believe it!_

Tsuki: _Thanks Naruto! Alright enjoy everybody! Oh, and extra special thanks to my friend _xXemocolorluverXx_because she's been totally awesome and has given me an idea for the sequel which will be up in the next few days, (of course it's not going to be a one-shot)! Okay, let's begin!_

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Sakura rose from her bed, her emotions scattered. She was very excited of course, today was the first day Sasuke would be able to leave his house, and start his life! Of course it took a lot of persuading the Hokage, but she finally decided to let him out for one day only, until his release from house-arrest that is. Still it was much better than nothing.

She picked out a red tank that ended above her belly button, and dry-fit black shorts, along with her ninja boots. Smiling to herself, she began to prepare the food for the picnic. She made some iced-tea the night before, and put it into canisters, along with some cups. She also had quite a few onigiri's, so she packed those and some tomatoes. As she grabbed them out of the fridge she smiled to herself, and thought back to her first few visits with Sasuke.

"Meow."

"Ahh!!!" Sakura shrieked and fell flat on the floor. "Oi, what the hell?" She rubbed her back and stood up to be met with bright green eyes staring back at her from the counter. "Jinxy, what the heck are you doing here?" The cat meowed again and she sighed. "Right, cats don't talk. Stupid Sakura, huh Jinx."

She lifted the cat off the counter, and brought her to the couch. Jinxy purred as Sakura pet her, and she leaned back, relaxing. "I don't know how you got here, but I'm kind of thankful. Luckily I live alone so no one will see me talking to a cat." She laughed and Jinxy looked up at her. "Well, I get to see everyone together today, in peace, for the first time in a long while. Well, maybe not in peace, Naruto will probably be yelling. Maybe the boys will even get into an argument like they used to. I never thought I'd miss their yelling at each other."

She glanced at the clock, and still had a while before she had to leave. "Well Jinx, I'm going to go see Lady Tsunade. See ya." She got up and left her house, yet Jinxy stayed close behind.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, Sakura's here to see you." Shizune peaked through her Hokage's door.

_Sakura, what's she doing here? _"Send her in." Tsunade demanded. No sooner had she said that, did Sakura walk in, Jinxy close behind. "Hello Sakura, what's with the cat?"

"Hello Shishou. That's Jinxy, and I have a favor to ask of you." The Hokage groaned.

"Okay, what do you want?"

"I want to go on the mission to annihilate Kabuto Yakushi."

"No." Sakura glared.

"Why not!? I'm perfectly capable of it, and you know it!"

"I refuse to send you on such a dangerous mission."

"Whatever you say, I'm going!" Tsunade groaned again.

"Fine, but if you better not die or so help me!!" Sakura laughed and the Hokage smiled.

"I plan to do as little dying as possible Shishou."

"Good, now leave so I can enjoy my sake in peace." Sakura smiled and gladly left her teacher, thankful for the secured spot in the mission.

"Well Jinxy, we still have a while. Let's visit Ino and tell her how things are going."

"Sasuke, I'm here to pick you up!" Naruto called, his voice echoing in the near-empty house. All the ANBU took the day off today since he was leaving, except a few of course. Sasuke was outside again, this time sitting in the sun though. "Sasuke, I thought you didn't like sitting in the sun to much?"

He grunted. "Sakura said I should more." Naruto smiled.

"So I take it you like Sakura?" Sasuke didn't reply. "Well, no matter. C'mon, let's get moving. Oh here, let me lengthen the restraints some more." Now Sasuke could pretty much freely move his arms about. He rose from the chair, and followed Naruto who led him out onto the street. The few pedestrians who were out there watched in fear and surprise as he wandered out of his abode, but he paid them no mind. Truly he was looking forward to this, as he had been for a while. It would be a bit painful he supposed, but nonetheless he would enjoy their company.

"I'm excited, are you excited? I am." Naruto continued talking but Sasuke let his voice zone out as he took in the surroundings. The village hasn't changed much; it seemed slightly less lively today though, even though the weather was nice. _News of my outing may have hit the streets._ He assumed darkly. Sasuke missed the days were people would greet him with waves and smiles, instead of scared glances. Even girls who had once worshipped the very ground he walked on, ran in fear. Naruto, being Naruto took no notice of this observation.

"So anyway, we're meeting in the cherry-blossom park, next to the river. Y'know, the one near the bridge?" Sasuke nodded. "Okay, here we are!" Sasuke saw the most heart wrenching view he had ever seen. Sakura sat alone on a white blanket in a clearing of cherry trees, the blossoms still falling. She was smiling looking right at them as she set out the cups and plates.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun, you're here!" His mind flashed pictures through his head, making him see the young Sakura in her red dress with her short hair, waving at them to come over. He smirked, and luckily for him it went unnoticed. Jinxy, the cat he found, was curled in a little ball on Sakura's lap, and every once in a while she ran her hand through its soft fur. They neared the blanket and Naruto sat on Sakura's right, Sasuke on her left. "Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet, but he will be soon." Sasuke still saw her as the twelve year old, Naruto as well, and he was enjoying the memory more than he thought he would.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm…" Naruto cut Kakashi off.

"You're late Kakashi-sensei!"

"I know; I got lost on the road of…"

"Liar!!!" Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto all laughed at the déjà vu, and Sasuke smirked a little too much, this time it didn't go unnoticed. "Oi, teme, is that a smile I see?"

"Sasuke is smiling? Oh, Sasuke you are!" Sakura laughed. Sasuke groaned and if you looked close enough, you could see the light tinge of pink on his cheeks. Sakura passed out the onigiri's, and poured the tea, while the team laughed together, just like they used to. Kakashi with his nose in his book, Sakura smiling back and forth between him and Naruto, and Naruto himself was laughing.

Sasuke felt a pressure on his back, and opened his eyes to see it was Naruto's hand. "Hey Sasuke, it's good to have you back." Now Sakura's hand was on his other shoulder and Kakashi looked up from his book, smiling at him.

Sasuke, for the first time in what seemed like forever, felt tears collect under his eyes. He was home, and they were there with him. The cherry blossom petals swirled around them in a sweet smelling cloud, and time stood still again. He was here, with his team again, and this time it wasn't a dream. Sakura leaned over and hugged him.

"We missed you." He wasn't afraid now, he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her in a full embrace, and then, well, then Sasuke wept. He cried for everything he missed, and everything that he hadn't cried for when he should have. He only wished he could hold onto this moment, to this girl, a little bit longer…

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Tsuki: _*sniffles* aww~, so beautiful! Sasuke has a soft spot…_

Sakura & Mizuki: _*cries*_

Tsuki: _Well, that's all folks!! I will now work on the sequel, which will include the battle against Kabuto! And it will hopefully be a lot better than this one! It will be more SasuSaku too, I promise!! Well, thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it so so so much! :3_

_See ya next time! *howls*_

_~Tsuki_


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